This is Floyd Wynne with THE VIEW FROM HERE

This is Floyd Wynne with THE VIEW FROM HERE.

Do you know the names of the Presidents of these United States?

Most everyone can identify many of them such as George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and other such as Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt (maybe), and certainly the more recent vintage such as Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, Bill Clinton and George Bush and George Walker Bush.

The government is now involved in an effort to spotlight the Presidents by way of a new dollar coin series. I already have a copy of the George Washington dollar. The Adams dollar was issued in May and the Jefferson dollar was issued Thursday.

The officials at the Mint conducted a survey to find out just how much Americans knew about their presidents. Last month the Gallop poll was taken. All knew of George Washington, only 30 percent could name Thomas Jefferson. Only 7 percent could name the first four Presidents.

Who could name the two Presidents whose son also became President.

Yes George Bush and his son George Walker Bush…..the other was John Adams and his son John Quincy Adams.

Which President had a grandson who also became President? The answer…..William Henry Harrison and his grandson Benjamin Harrison.

And...which President served two full terms but not successively?

Well that was Grover Cleveland.

Enough about the Presidents.

The director of the Mint hopes that the issuance of the Presidential dollars will increase interest of the public in past Presidents. He cited the fact that 147 million people collected the quarters that were commemorating all the fifty states. As a matter of fact I have them all except Wyoming and Utah for 2007.

One has to wonder what they are teaching today in our schools on U.S. history. As a matter of fact the two previous efforts of the government to mint the Susan B. Anthony and the Sacagawea dollars proved to be quite a fizzle.

In the first place these dollars were about the size of quarters and caused quite a bit of confusion, particularly in coin slots.

Actually the custom of putting Presidents on our coins didn’t come about until the 1900s. Prior to that time the pennies were called Indian heads, the nickel had a winged figure on one side and a V on the other.

The dime also a Grecian type figure as was the quarter and the half dollars.

The reason for that goes back to the beginning of the coinage system in the U.S. Alexander Hamilton was the first Secretary of the Treasury and conceived both the idea of coins as well as bank notes. He suggested that President George Washington be put on the first coins, but a controversy developed on the issue of the coins being used politically.

So…..that’s the story. As we understand it the Presidential coins will be issued over time. Some suggested that it might be the year 2012 before all the issues are out.

Others cite the fate of the previous gold colored dollars and feel the Presidential dollars may suffer the same fate. Time will tell.

This is Floyd Wynne and that’s THE VIEW FROM HERE.

Text Box:
This is Floyd Wynne with THE VIEW FROM HERE.

Do you know the names of the Presidents of these United States?
Most everyone can identify many of them such as George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and other such as Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt (maybe), and certainly the more recent vintage such as Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, Bill Clinton and George Bush and George Walker Bush.
The government is now involved in an effort to spotlight the Presidents by way of a new dollar coin series.   I already have a copy of the George Washington dollar. The Adams dollar was issued in May and the Jefferson dollar was issued Thursday.
The officials at the Mint conducted a survey to find out just how much Americans knew about their presidents. Last month the Gallop poll was taken. All knew of George Washington, only 30 percent could name Thomas Jefferson. Only 7 percent could name the first four Presidents.
Who could name the two Presidents whose son also became President.
Yes George Bush and his son George Walker Bush…..the other was John Adams and his son John Quincy Adams.
Which President had a grandson who also became President? The answer…..William Henry Harrison and his grandson Benjamin Harrison.
And...which President served two full terms but not successively?
Well that was Grover Cleveland.
Enough about the Presidents.
The director of the Mint hopes that the issuance of the Presidential dollars will increase interest of the public in past Presidents. He cited the fact that 147 million people collected the quarters that were commemorating all the fifty states.   As a matter of fact I have them all except Wyoming and Utah for 2007.
One has to wonder what they are teaching today in our schools on U.S. history. As a matter of fact the two previous efforts of the government to mint the Susan B. Anthony and the Sacagawea dollars proved to be quite a fizzle.
In the first place these dollars were about the size of quarters and caused quite a bit of confusion, particularly in coin slots.
Actually the custom of putting Presidents on our coins didn’t come about until the 1900s.   Prior to that time the pennies were called Indian heads, the nickel had a winged figure on one side and a V on the other.
The dime also a Grecian type figure as was the quarter and the half dollars.
The reason for that goes back to the beginning of the coinage system in the U.S.   Alexander Hamilton was the first Secretary of the Treasury and conceived both the idea of coins as well as bank notes. He suggested that President George Washington be put on the first coins, but a controversy developed on the issue of the coins being used politically.
So…..that’s the story. As we understand it the Presidential coins will be issued over time.   Some suggested that it might be the year 2012 before all the issues are out.
Others cite the fate of the previous gold colored dollars and feel the Presidential dollars may suffer the same fate. Time will tell.
This is Floyd Wynne and that’s THE VIEW FROM HERE.